Bambai Ka Babu

If you thought director Sriram Raghavan deserved applause for casting Saif in a negative role with Ek Hasina Thi, well, hold that thought: Vikram Bhatt got there first, and made Khan play a don in this awful, awful film.

Khan was nowhere near gangster enough, his feebleness even apparent in the film’s poster.

Aarzoo

Lawrence D’Souza directed this love triangle with Madhuri Dixit, Akshay Kumar and Saif, and while the actors appear to be valiantly trying to be earnest in a few scenes, the rest of the film makes it clear that they’ve given up on the atrocious script.

Hum Saath Saath Hain

Also known as The Sooraj Barjatya Film That Was So Mindnumbingly Boring That The Actors Decided To Go Kill Some Animals Instead, this melodramatic family-heavy mess proved to take quite a toll on its massive cast.

Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic

Between Rani Mukerji bouncing around as a relentlessly Punjabi angel and Ameesha Patel constantly gunning for a wardrobe malfunction -- all while director Kunal Kohli thought he was making Mary Poppins -- there wasn’t much for Saif to do here except look constipated.

Which he did like any self-respecting method actor would, possibly in consequence of not chewing over the script before he signed on.

Roadside Romeo

No matter how big a Saif-fan you may be, it’s hard not to admit that his voice isn’t his strongest suit. Sure, he uses it better now and it isn’t the nasal whine it once used to be, but still.

Everything about Disney’s foray into Indian animation (in partnership with Yash Raj Films, by the way) was ill-advised, and so Khan came aboard as the titular Romeo in a film with neither bark nor bite.

Aarakshan

It’s all very well to cast against type, but the Nawab Of Pataudi isn’t the best choice to play a backward-caste Dalit -- and it’s not (just) because of his acting range.

Casting a high-profile blueblood in the role of a downtrodden Dalit in a film about discrimination is very problematic indeed, and would have been a huge talking point if only Prakash Jha had made a film that was any good.